Hit or Miss: The All-American Rejects Kids in The Street Review

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The evolution of a band is what makes being a fan of them beautiful. Seeing them change and grow from album to album gives one the best perspective from which to judge their new music,
because you know where they
came from.
The boys out of Stillwater, Okla., who at age 15 formed the pop-punk band The All-American Rejects are back with their fourth and best album, Kids In The Street. After having the same sound for three albums (it was fresh and new on their debut, exploded on their best-selling second album, Move Along, and repetitive and dull on their third), the I-wish-I-could-have-you-back-in-my-life crybabies delivered a much-needed new sound to their fans.

Not that the gist of the lyrics have changed too much, as lead singer Tyson Ritter still croons about relationships with girls that have gone wrong. With his “Heartbeat Slowing Down” he says his girls walk all over him, while all he wants is their “Affection.” But what has improved significantly is the clever use of wordplay and the lyrical
complexity which makes one have to think and decipher exactly what they mean; it’s not as simple as former hits like “Gives You Hell” or “Move Along.”
Another significant and positive change is the incorporation of different sounds, such as 90s garage rock, 60s style rock and even some jazzy horns on lead single “Beekeeper’s Daughter,” which all provide a fresh new platform for the Rejects to tell their stories.
Now in their late 20s and early 30s, the band is noticeably a lot more mature, and songs like “Kids In the Street” and “Gonzo,” reflect their new perspective on life with anthems that fans who grew up with them will be sure to love.
The band knew what it needed to do, and as Tyson Ritter himself said: “If you really want to know what Kids in the Street sounds like, it sounds like The All-American
Rejects finally got their shit together and wrote a record that was going to keep them around.”